“Addition of carboplatin (C) is recommended for eligible patients,” Dr. Schuette and coauthors reported. “However, in patients with ECOG PS-2, the administration of C must be carefully reviewed.”

A total of 251 elderly participants were randomly assigned to receive pemetrexed plus bevacizumab (P 500 mg/m2 + B 7.5 mg/kg either with (n=118) or without (n=133) carboplatin (P+B+C area under the curve 5, day 1 every 3 weeks for four to six cycles).

Among elderly patients with ECOG PS 0-1 who received carboplatin, median overall survival (OS) was 15.8 months, which was not statistically significantly different from a median 12-month OS among patients not receiving carboplatin, the coauthors noted.